Friday, August 29, 2008

Noro Face-Off

The jury is in, and things aren't looking so great right now for the Noro Kureyon (pronounced 'crayon'. My rule of thumb is that with Japanese words, just say it really fast and you'll probably get it right). I gave it a shot with my half-hearted attempt at the Ziggy socks, and I have to say that the experience, while it lasted, was not pleasurable. As I have stated before, I truly now know what it feels like to knit with lichen. The yarn is weirdly oily and scratchy at the same time. And splitty. And rough in a way that makes me not care that it will supposedly soften in the wash. Bottom line: the hand is a horror show. But the colors, the colors...sigh.

Enter the new upstart Noro that will definitely soon become the show stealer, Silk Garden Sock Yarn. I must say that for two yarns that should by all rights be so similar, these two siblings are night and day. The Silk Garden feels silky and soft and just somehow less irritating. And while the color choices are nowhere near as numerous, I'll gladly trade the glitzy colors of the Kureyon for the dependability of the Silk Garden.

These socks were the perfect back to school mindless knit stress reducers for me. I worked on them off and on during the last few weeks, sneaking in a row here and there and finished them last night watching Obama's speech--Yes, I did.

I realize that my M.O. for the next month or so is going to be finishing projects that were started with so much élan during the spring and summer but somehow ended up in the holding tank. Next up for me will be the Lil Nutkins. This is a fabulous pattern that I highly recommend to anyone looking for a Monkey, Spring Forward type of affair.

27 comments:

Thanks for introducing the Ziggy pattern to me. I can't say I'd noticed it before. I loved knitting with Silk Garden Sock too, much nicer than the Kureyon Sock, although I actually knit a pair out of the second and not the first! Nutkins is also on my to do list!

I knit through everything else, but when he was introduced, the second sleeve of my sweater had to wait. I just kept thinking, "This is what a President looks, acts, and sounds like." Nov. 4 cannot come quickly enough...

I have the same feelings for the Noro sock yarn. I love the colors and the rustic look, but I can't stand how it seems to scratch my fingertips off when I knit with it. Alas, I cannot do the Silk Garden Sock, as I'm allergic to mohair and it has just the tiniest bit.

Love how your Nutkins are knitting up. Is that Koigu? A word of advice, though: I've heard that because all the stitches shift the same way, the fabric tends to skew and can make the sock tight. You may want to try it on to make sure it's okay before you get too far. It would stink to finish a beautiful sock that you can get on your foot! (I'm sure you know this already, but I wanted to make sure!)

Ah, it's so funny you should say this. I was touching the Silk Garden in the store, thinking how it might be nice for a shawl. But the colors weren't right. So I reached for its sister, and - YIKES! It was like touching my grandmother's hands! Your socks are mahvelous, Dahling...

Haha! One woman's lichen is another woman's delight. Call me a nutter, but I enjoy working with "crayon", and it does soften considerably when you wash it. But there's no denying that SG is nicer on the hands. And so pretty too! I adore that blue/green/black colourway!!!

i had the same experience with the Kureyon sock. Hated it. And though it will soften with a washing, the yarn simply has NO memory. Even when you put ribs it, it will stretch out and feel loose. I wasn't thrilled.